Jesuits Expelled from Spanish and Portuguese Empires
Portugal expelled the Jesuits from its empire in 1759 under Pombal's direction, and Spain followed in 1767 under Charles III—both acts of Enlightenment statecraft asserting royal authority over the Church. The Jesuits had established an extensive educational and pastoral network throughout colonial Latin America, including the famous Guaraní reductions in Paraguay that had protected indigenous communities from enslavement. Their expulsion destroyed these institutions, left thousands of indigenous communities without protection, and removed the most educated class from colonial society. The intellectual vacuum created by their absence contributed to the spread of secular Enlightenment ideas among Creole elites.
- Year: 1759 CE
- Category: Cultural
